S-R-G-m-P-D-n-S
Sarodiya Rahul Bhattacharya describes the late-afternoon Gaoti as “an underutilised gem…a pleasant, fulfilled feeling…like enjoying a perfume without actually knowing why”. Also known as ‘Gawati’, differences of opinion persist as to whether the raga is identical to Bheem: while some claim that Bheem can be distinguished by its occasional use of komal ga in taar saptak, this facet is also evident in plenty of Gaoti renditions, such as the stellar interpretation of Acharya Jayanta Bose. And, while Agra-Gwalior vocalist Prabhakar Karekar considers the ragas indistinguishable (having remarked that he “had been taught the raga under the name Bheem”), the liner notes to a Nikhil Banerjee album state that “Gaoti has the same aroha–avroh as Bheem, but consistently uses the phrases nSDP and GmRnS. Bheem, on the other hand, often uses mPGRS and mPGmGRS” (also noting that “Both ragas recall their kinship with Bhimpalasi through the use of komal ga in the upper octave [as SgRS]…Unlike Bhimpalasi, however, Re and Dha are more prominent, and ma is weaker and used in a vakra fashion”). Straightforward audav ascents are set against sampurna descending lines which tend to run in ‘paired’ sequences (e.g. nS, DP, mP, Gm, RS). While its precise genesis is unclear, Kuldeep Kumar describes it as “a raga popularised by the legendary Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, but not attempted by many instrumentalists” – although several superb instrumental takes are now available, including Shivkumar Sharma on santoor and Vishwa Mohan Bhatt on mohan veena – and, as pointed out by reader Ethan Gilbert, the divine 80-min rendition on Nikhil Banerjee’s Amsterdam 1984 album.
• Raga Masterlist (1000+) •
राग गावती
Search | Glossary | Tags
• Hindustani Raga Index •
Aroha: nSGmPnS
Avroh: gRSnDm, PDmGRS
Chalan: e.g. GmPSn; SPD; PDmP; GmRnS; Sm; mPGmPnS; PnSPDP (Parrikar)
—Acharya Jayanta Bose (2013)—
[motifs & taans, e.g. 1:11] n(SnSn…) DPD; nnmPnS GGSnSG, m(g)SnS, G, m(g)SnS, GmPn S(n)S(n)S(n)S…
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• Recent Raga Index Updates (Jul 2026): Melodic ‘snapshots’ of prachalit ragas • Up to 365 raga pages! Some highlights: Bayati, Basant Mukhari, Bilaskhani Todi, Chandranandan, DoGa Kalyan, Jog, Kalavati, Kaushiki, Malkauns, Maru, Meladalan, Parameshwari, Sarangkauns, Vachaspati (+ try out ‘Audav Meladalan‘) • What does ‘Kauns’ mean? Analysing 60+ Kauns ragas • ‘Bifurcations‘: ‘poorvang vs. uttarang’ splits • Amir Khan’s ‘168 merukhands’ • Experiments (e.g. overtonal Bhairav, jazz Malkauns) • Survey of Sa Tunings • More Masterlist ragas (1000+)
Raag Jog: exploring different ways the electric guitar can support a Dhrupad-ang nomtom (syllabic improvisation)…
(From ‘Around the World in Eight Ragas’: my show with Ashwin Baliga & Marc Clayton at Mehfil Space on 11 Jun 2026) @ashwinbaligaofficial @marc_plays_tabla @mehfilspace
#dhrupad #raga #indianmusic #icm #worldmusic
Jun 28
Raag Kafi: Electric guitar improv around the adha bandish ‘Aaj Khel Shaam Sang Hori’
(From ‘Around the World in Eight Ragas’: my show with Ashwin Baliga & Marc Clayton at Mehfil Space on 11 Jun 2026) @ashwinbaligaofficial @marc_plays_tabla @mehfilspace
#raga #indianmusic #icm #worldmusic #ragaguitar
Jun 22
Raag Jog: some sawal-jawab (‘question-answer’) fun with Marc Clayton on tabla
(From ‘Around the World in Eight Ragas’: my show with Ashwin Baliga & Marc Clayton at Mehfil Space on 11 Jun 2026) @ashwinbaligaofficial @marc_plays_tabla @mehfilspace
#raga #indianmusic #icm #worldmusic #ragaguitar
Jun 15
Some tintal improv around a wonderful Durga bandish I’ll be playing at @mehfilspace @the_rose_hill in Brighton on Thu 11th June! with vocalist @ashwinbaligaofficial and @marc_plays_tabla
https://therosehill.co.uk/event/the-mehfil-space-presents-around-the-world-in-8-ragas/
‘Around the World in 8 Ragas’: exploring cross-cultural melodic forms (e.g. scales that turn up independently in Japan, India, Mali, etc)
#indianmusic #raga #icm #brightonmusic #ragaguitar
Jun 10
Come see me play some bendy raga-guitar at @mehfilspace @the_rose_hill in Brighton on Thu 11th June! with vocalist @ashwinbaligaofficial and @marc_plays_tabla
https://therosehill.co.uk/event/the-mehfil-space-presents-around-the-world-in-8-ragas/
‘Around the World in 8 Ragas’: exploring cross-cultural melodic forms (e.g. scales that turn up independently in Japan, India, Mali, etc) – including this piece, a famous Bhairavi bhajan by Pt. Bhimsen Joshi (Jo Bhaje Hari Ko Sada)
#bhajan #raga #indianmusic #brightonmusic #ragaguitar
Jun 5
tomato can jungle/DnB (distracted while cooking)
#drumming #percussion #dnb #jungle
May 23
A great Jaunpuri gat from Senia-Shahjahanpur sarod legend Pt Buddhadev DasGupta, full of fast bends and slides (originally released for Joep Bor’s 1997 Raga Guide, in many ways a precursor to my own raga index)
Raag Jaunpuri: a late morning raga, likely originating in the Sultanate-era music of Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh (as per Subodh Agrawal: “The rulers of Jaunpur were keen patrons of the arts, and the last one – Sultan Hussain Sharqi – was himself a distinguished musician; it is probable that the Jaunpuri flavor of Asavari was developed by him, or under his patronage“). Rajan Parrikar elaborates on its “Asavariant” status, noting that some (including Omkarnath Thakur) see it as essentially indistinguishable from Shuddha Re Asavari, while others consider Jaunpuri to follow more ‘rounded’ melodic motions…
#sarod #ragaguitar #stratocaster #worldmusic #jaunpur
May 6
just for fun…I had to defend the honour of my main instrument against my second instrument (many thanks to @mountainhead for the original video, as well as some tasty bends) – still no match for the surbahar’s meend range though!
#sitar #guitar #raga #bends #ragaguitar
May 4
• Classifiers •
Explore hidden inter-raga connections: swara geometries, melodic features, murchana sets, ragangas, & more (also see the Full Tag List):
Swaras: -4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10+
Sapta: Audav | Shadav | Sampurna
Poorvang: SRGM | SRG | SRM | SGM
Uttarang: PDNS | PDS | PNS | DNS
Varjit: Re | Ga | Ma | Pa | Dha | Ni
Thaat: 10 | 32 | Enclosed | Inexact
Chal: All-shuddha | All-komal | Ma-tivra
Gaps: Anh. | Hemi. | 3-row | 4-row | 5-row
Aroha: Audav | Shadav | Sampurna
Avroh: Audav | Shadav | Sampurna
Jati: Equal | Balanced | Av.+1 | Av.+2
Samay: Morning | Aftern. | Eve. | Night
Construction: Jod | Mishra | Oddball
Origin: Ancient | Carnatic | Modern
Dominance: Poorvang | Uttarang
Prevalence: A-list | Prachalit | Aprach.
• Prakriti: Khamaj thaat, Khamaj, Jhinjhoti, Kambhoji, Khambavati, Sameshwari, Sakh
–Proximate Forms–
Kafi = ‘Gaoti komal ga‘
Bilawal = ‘Gaoti shuddha Ni‘
Ahir Bhairav = ‘Gaoti komal re‘
Desh = ‘Gaoti double Ni‘
Vachaspati = ‘Gaoti tivra Ma‘
Jansammohini = ‘Gaoti no ma‘
(n.b. these are just ‘scalar similarities’, with nothing particular implied about phraseological overlap)
–Swara Geometries–
• Core form: S–R–G–m–P–D–n–S
• Reverse: SRgmPdnS (=Darbari)
• Complement: SrgMdNS (=Gujiri Todi)
• Imperfect: 1 (Ga)
• Detached: none
• Symmetries: mirror (r—P)
• Murchanas: Bilawal set
• Quirks: ‘maximal‘ (swaras are optimally ‘spread out’)
–Global Translations–
• Carnatic: ~Harikambhoji (mela #28)
S-R2-G3-M1-P-D2-N2-S
• Jazz: Mixolydian
1-2-3-4-5-6-b7-8
• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):
0-2-4-5-7-9-10-0
(2–2–1–2–2–1–2)
o • o • o o • o • o o • o
• Tanpura: Sa–Pa
• Names: Gaoti, Gawati, Gawoti, (~Bheem: see above)
• Transliterations: Hindi (गावती)
—Shivkumar Sharma (1997)—
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George Howlett is a London-based musician, writer, and teacher (guitars, sitar, tabla, & santoor). Above all I seek to enthuse fellow sonic searchers, interconnecting fresh vibrations with the voices, cultures, and passions behind them. See Homepage for more, and hit me up for Lessons!
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